Oroville gym launches Mud Run event on Saturday

OROVILLE &GT;&GT; Running through ice and mud are just a few of the obstacles in store for a new five-mile running event that launches on Saturday in Oroville.

The first Lord's Gym Mud Run will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30, starting at the corner of Bird and Downer streets and extending to the paintball park at Surplus City Fun Park on Pacific Heights Road west of Highway 70.

Vicki Orsillo said the run will be 7.7k, or five miles.

The race course begins at the gym, goes to Municipal Auditorium on Montgomery Street and then up the stairs and onto the levee. Runners will take the levee to Bedrock Park, take a swim, then continue on to Riverbend Park. A trail inside Riverbend Park leads all the way to Pacific Heights Road and the paintball park, Orsillo said.

There will be all kinds of obstacles.

At the Municipal Auditorium, runners will face a tractor flip obstacle. There will also be obstacles at Bedrock and Riverbend parks, Roman walls to climb along the levee and scaling telephone poles across a muddy pool.

Orsillo said the gym is partnering with Feather River Recreation and Park District and the city for the event.

"Everybody's getting involved," she said. "It's really cool." For the fastest runners, the course is expected to take an hour and a half to complete. For slow runners, it could take three hours.

Afterward, a barbecue will be offered along with vendors, for a charge.

The Mud Run is $50 per person for those who register before Saturday. The cost includes a survival T-shirt. The day of the race, registration will be $65 per person.

Registration on race day will begin at 8 a.m. and the race will start at 9, Orsillo said.

The money raised will benefit the Life Recovery Ministry,which provides five recovery homes for people overcoming addictions, Orsillo said.

Organizers have been solidly planning the event for five months, and hope it will grow in the years to come.

So far, 150 people have signed up for Saturday's run.

"It's a huge race," Orsillo said. "It's going to be big for Oroville, bringing people from all over ... We're kind of excited."